Chronic gastric and duodenal ulcers, together known as peptic ulcers, are a common ailment for which a variety of treatments, including dietary measures, drug therapy and surgery, may be employed, depending on the severity of the condition. Particularly valuable therapeutic agents useful for the treatment of gastric hyperacidity and peptic ulcers are the histamine-H.sub.2 receptor antagonists, which act to block the action of the physiologically active compound histamine at the H.sub.2 -receptor sites in the animal body and to thereby inhibit the secretion of gastric acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,843 issued Feb. 22, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,396 issued Mar. 6, 1984 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,690 issued Dec. 24, 1985 disclose 2-guanidino-4-imidazolylthiazoles, 2-guanidino-4-(1,2,4-triazolyl)thiazoles and 2-guanidino-4-thiazolylthiazoles which are useful for treatment of gastric hyperacidity and peptic ulcers, some of which are also cytoprotective agents. Piroxicam, 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-N-2-pyridinyl-2H-1,2-benzothiazine-3-carboxamide 1,1-dioxide, is a known anti-inflammatory agent, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,584; and J. Lombardino et al., J. Med. Chem., 16, 493 (1973).